Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s
Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use
abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting.
However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the
concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s
conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines
of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced, with no
intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to
standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth
it.[AK]

PEA PATCH JIG. AKA and see "Mechanics'
Hall Jig." American, Dance Tune (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning.
ABB. Composed by Ohio (minstrel) Dan Emmett in
1845. A 'jig' was an old‑time name for a kind of syncopated banjo tune,
likely derived from the usage of ‘jig’ as a generic dance, or, just possibly,
as a derogatory association with African-American dancing. These kinds of ‘jig’
tunes, prevalent in the Howe/Ryan publications and similar mid-19th
century volumes, have nothing to do with the Irish 6/8 jig, for these tunes
were always in 2/4 time. Howe categorizes the melody as a schottische. See note
for “Camp Meeting [1]” for a
sketch of Emmett. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes),
1940; pg. 82. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels),
c. 1867; pg. 53. Ryan’s Mammoth
Collection, 1883; pg. 114.

PEACE OF THE VALLEY, THE (Suaimneas Na Gleanna). Irish, Air (4/4 time). C Major.
Standard tuning. AB. A composition by Balfe. O’Neill was criticized by some in
the traditional circle for his inclusion of several of Balfe’s compositions in
his Music of Ireland, on the grounds
that “Balfe’s music...was not Irish at all, even if he was.” O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies),
1903/1979; No. 497, pg. 87.

PEACEFUL CORCOMORE.Irish, Slow Air. Composed by concertina player Chris Droney (Bell
Harbour, County Clare), named for the ruins of an abbey not far from his home
town. Droney is the veteran of several influential céilí bands, including the
Aughrim Slopes, Kilfenora, and, latterly, the Four Courts. Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 161, Chris Droney – “Down from Bell
Harbour” (2005).

PEACH
BLOSSOMS, THE. Irish, Barndance (cut time). D
Major. Standard. AABBCC. The tune was recorded in New York in 1935 by the
famous fiddler James Morrison (1893-1947), known as “The Professor” because of
his concentration on teaching, although he also recorded many times in the years
between 1921 and 1936. Morrison was born in Lackagh, Drumfin, County Sligo.
Source for notated version: Paddy Ryan [Treoir].
Treoir, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2000; pg. 22.Green Linnet SIF 1150, “The
Moving Cloud.”

PEACOCK
FOLLOWED/FOLLOWS THE HEN, THE. AKA and see “Brose and Butter,” "Cuddle Me, Cuddy," "Brose and Butter," "Mad Moll [1],” “Up and Down Again,” "The Virgin Queen," "Yellow Stockings." English; Jig
(9/8 time), Old Hornpipe, and Air. England, Northumberland. A Dorian. Standard
tuning. AABB (Bruce & Stokoe): AABBCCDDEEFFGG (Peacock). "This tune
has been claimed as Scottish, and has appeared in the collections of that
country under the title of 'Brose and Butter', but in reality it is one of the
old English bagpipe hornpipes of the kind so plentiful in the 17th century and
in the former part of the 18th. The earliest copy of the tune we have been able
to discover is in Playford's Dancing
Master, part II, of the edition of 1698, where it appears under the name of
'Mad Moll'; it is nearly identical with our pipe tune as above noted. A
slightly different version of the tune was also known by the names of 'Yellow
Stockings' and 'The Virgin Queen'‑‑the latter title seeming to
identify it with Queen Elizabeth, as the name of Mad Moll does with her sister
Queen Mary, who was said to be subject to fits of mental aberration. The words
of 'The Virgin Queen' or of 'Mad Moll' are not known to exist, but they
probably consisted of some fulsome panegyric on Queen Elizabeth at the expense
of her (un)fortunate sister. Allen Ramsey, in his Tea Table Miscellany, published in 1740, printed Dean Swift's song
of 'Oh! My Kitten, My Kitten!' to the second version of this tune, and called
it 'Yellow Stockings.' This, so far as we have been able to trace, is the first
appearance of the air in a Scottish publication. Upwards of half a century
later it attained great popularity in that country under the name of 'Brose and
Butter', as before mentioned" (Stokoe). It appears in Northumberland
musician William Vickers’ 1770-72 music manuscript under the title “Cuddle Me,
Cuddy.” The following lyrics, fairly suggestive, appear in Joseph Cawhall’s A Beuk o’ Newcassel Sangs (1888):

PEACOCK'S FANCY [1]. AKA and see "Footy," “Footy Agyen the Wa’.” English,
Jig. England, Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. "Although
not originally written for the small pipes, this tune owes its celebrity with
pipers to the circumstances that it was a great favourite with John Peacock and
the later players. The song of 'Footy', which is sung to it, was better adapted
to the tastes of a ruder age than to those of the present time" (Bruce
& Stokoe). John Peacock was a legendary Northumbrian piper, credited with
extending the range of the instrument through the innovation of adding keys to
the plain chanter. Although renowned in his time, Peacock fell on hard times
toward the end of his life, and had to rely on the generosity of others in the
piping community. "…Peacock (was a) celebrated Northumbrian piper, who
came to Newcastle originally from Morpeth, and was perhaps the best small‑pipes
player who lived, although not a scientific performer. He was one of the
Incorporated Company of Town Waits in Newcastle, and in 1805 in conjunction
with William Wright, published a small oblong book of Tunes for the Northumbrian Small Pipes, of which only two or three
copies are now known to exist" (Bruce & Stokoe). Peacock lived from
1754(or 6) to 1817 and was taught by William Lamshaw at a time when the
smallpipes were just beginning to decline in popluarity. The title appears in
Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The
Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. Bruce & Stokoe
(Northumbrian Minstrelsy), 1882; pg.
175. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes),
1984; pg. 117.

B>A | G2E2E2 DE | G2G2A2 GA | B3c dcBA | G2E2D2 BA | G2E2E2 D>E |

G2G2A2 GA | B2e2 dcBA | G2E2E2 :: d3e dcBA | B2e2e2 fg | d3e
dcBA |

G2E2D2
BA | G2E2E2 D>E | G2G2A2 GA | B2e2 dcBA | G2E2E2 :|

PEACOCK'S FEATHER [2], THE (Cleite na Péacóige). Irish, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard
tuning. AA'BB (Breathnach): AA’BB’ (Black, Harker/Rafferty). Black identifies
this as an East Galway tune,, recorded by the band De Danann. However, Caoimhin
Mac Aoidh attributes it to Joe Holmes of County Antrim, a singer and fiddler
who brought the tune to Galway in the early 1970’s. It seems that Holmes and a
young Len Graham would travel to stay with friends, the Keanes of
Caherlistrane, and introduced the tune on one of his visits. Sources for
notated versions: fiddler Frankie Gavin (Ireland) [Breathnach]; New Jersey
flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].
Black (Music’s the Very Best Thing),
1996; No. 286, pg. 154. Breathnach (CRÉ
III), 1985; No. 219, pg. 100. Harker (300
Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 253, pg. 78. Old
Bridge Music OBM 07, Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman - "The Living
Wood” (where they note it is associated with Joe Holmes). Shanachie Records
29008, Frankie Gavin ‑ "Traditional Music of Ireland" (1977).
Shanachie Records 34009, Frankie Gavin & Alex Finn (1977).

PEACOCK FEATHERS [4].English, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody appears in
the music manuscript copybook of fiddler John Burks, dated 1821 (a photocopy in
the ed. possession). Unfortunately nothing is know of Burks, although he may
have been from the north of England.

PEACOCK’S TUNE. English (originally), Scottish, Air (6/8 or 3/4 time). England,
Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. "This march
("Peacock's March") and air were both the composition of John
Peacock, the celebrated Northumbrian piper, who came to Newcastle originally
from Morpeth, and was perhaps the best small‑pipes player who lived,
although not a scientific performer. He was one of the Incorporated Company of
Town Waits in Newcastle, and in 1805 in conjunction with William Wright,
published a small oblong book of Tunes
for the Northumbrian Small Pipes, of which only two or three copies are now
known to exist" (Bruce & Stokoe). Peacock lived from 1754(or 6) to
1817 and was taught by William Lamshaw at a time when the smallpipes were just
beginning to decline in popluarity. Peacock helped to modernize the instrument,
commissioning a set of pipes with four keys from maker John Dunn. Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 58. Bruce
& Stokoe (Northumbrian Minstrelsy),
1882; pg. 174.

PEADER’S NEW CALF. Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Falmouth,
Massachusetts, musician and writer Bill Black, in honor of a West Clare flute
player who left a session Black was playing in to return home to attend the
birthing, only to return later. Black (Music’s
the Very Best Thing), 1996; No. 346, pg. 184.

PEARL OF THE
IRISH NATION [2]. Irish, Air and Song Tune (6/8 time). D Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AB.
"There is a song to this air written by Patrick O'Kelly, a wandering
peasant poet of the beginning of the last century, who discloses his name in
the last verse: a custom found in other songs" (Joyce). The song begins:
***

Though many there be that daily I see,

Of virtuous beautiful creatures,

With red rosy cheeks and ruby lips,

And likewise comely features:

Yet there is none abroad or at home,

In country or town or plantation,

That can be compared to this maiden fair—

The Pearl of th’ Irish Nation.

***

Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 45, pg. 25.

X:1

T:Pearl of the Irish Nation [2]

M:6/8

L:1/8

S:Joyce – Old Irish Folk Music and Songs(1909)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Dmix

G/E/|DEG A2A|A<dc B2G|EAG EDE|G3
E2D|DEG A2 A|Adc B2G|EAG EDE|D3 D2||

B|cBc d2d|dBA B2G|GBd dBA|B3 d2D|DEG
A2A|A<dc B2G|EAG EDE|D3 D2||

PEARL OF THE
WHITE BREAST [1]. Irish, Slow Air (3/4 time). C Major. Standard tuning. One part.
"Different from the two airs of the same name in Petrie and Bunting"
(Joyce). Source for notated version: "Copied from a MS. collection lent
Mr. Pigot by James Hardiman, the historian of Galway and editor of Hardiman's Irish Minstrelsy"
(Joyce). Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and
Song), 1909; No. 752, pg. 371.

PEARL OF THE WHITE
BREAST [2] (Pearla na m-Brollac
Baine). AKA ‑
"Pearla Na‑M‑Brollac Baine." AKA and see "Snowy‑Breasted
Pearl." Irish, Air (4/4 time). F Major. Standard tuning. AB
(Stanford/Petrie): AAB (O’Neill). The tune was recorded (as "Pearla an
Vroley Vaun") by the Belfast
Northern Star of July 15, 1792, as having been played in competition by one
of ten Irish harp masters at the last great convocation of ancient Irish
harpers, the Belfast Harp Festival, held that week. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies),
1903/1979; No. 511, pg. 89. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 623, pg. 156.

PEARL O’SHAUGHNESSY’S
BARNDANCES. Irish, Barndances. Two tunes, the
first in four parts, though in Donegal it is often played as two separate
barndances, according to Maire O’Keeffe. Fiddler Pearl O’Shaughnessy is the
mother of Irish musician Paul O’Shaungnessy, and, as a nameless tune picked up
from her playing, it became associated with her and gained her name. The tunes
were recorded on a 78 RPM in 1946 by Danny O’Donnell, simply called “Irish Barn
Dance.” The ‘A’ part of the tune appears Dave Townsend’s Second Collection of English Country Dance Tunes (1983) as the ‘A’
part of “Fred Pigeon’s No. 2.” Spin CD1001, Eoghan
O’Sullivan, Gerry Harrington, Paul De Grae - “The Smoky Chimney” (1996. Learned
from Tralee fiddler Maire O’Keeffe, who had them from Pearl O’Shaunghnessy, of
Donegal and Scottish origins).

X:1

T:Pearl O’Shaughnessy’s Barndances

M:4/4

L:1/8

K:G

Bc|d2 G2 G2 AB|c2 E2 E2 G2|FGAB
cBAc|e2 d2 dcBc|

X:2

T:Pearl O’Shaughnessy’s Barndances

S:Danny O'Donnell

Z:Juergen.Gier@post.rwth-aachen.de

L:1/8

M:C|

K:D

df|a2a2 a^gba|f2f2 fedf|a2g2
e2c2|b2a2 fedf|\

a2a2 a^gba|f2f2 fedf|a2g2 e2ce|d2d2
d2::ag|\

f<ad2 dfaf|g<be2 e2gf|edcB
Acfe|dAce b2ag|\

f<ad2 dfaf|g<be2 e2gf|(3ege cB
Acfe|d2d2 d2:|

Bc|dBed B2g2|fege c3d|f2ed f2ed|B2A2
B2Bc|\

dBed B2g2|fege c3d|f2ed ^cdef|g2b2
g2:|

|:dg|b2b2 bd'c'b|a2e2 e2ag|f2ed
f2ed|B2A2 B2Bg|\

b2b2 bd'c'b|a2e2 e2ag|f2ed
^cdef|g2b2 g2:|

PEARL QUADRILLE. American, Quadrille. The tune was recorded for Edison in 1924 by Ohio
fiddler John Baltzell, but was unissued.

PEAS AND BEANS. Scottish. There is an anecdote, given first by John Glen (1895) {and
repeated by Alburger in 1983}, which relates a story of the famous Scots
fiddler Niel Gow, who had stopped into the Princes Street (Edinburgh) music
shop of one Penson and Robertson in 1793. He had been looking for a bow and
tried several, but nothing suited him. "Then he noticed a copy of
"Peas and Beans," which he had just published, on the counter. The
shopkeeper saw him pick it up and said, 'If you play that over without a pause
or mistake, I will make you a present of the bow'. Niel played, and the man was
astonished at his skill, saying, 'You must have seen that piece before!' 'To be
shoore,' said Niel, 'I saw it fifty times when I was making it,'" and bow
in hand he walked briskly out of the store. Unfortunately the story is not
true. The composition was not Niel's but his son Nathaniel's
and was not published in the former's lifetime, and there was no music‑seller
in Princes Street in 1793; aside, as Alburger says, the possibility that an
Edinburgh music‑seller would not recognize the famous Niel Gow.

PEASANT’S DANCE [2].English, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody was first
printed by David Rutherford in his Choice Collection of Sixty of the Most
Celebrated Country Dances (London, 1750), also included in his later Complete
Collection of 200 Country Dances, vol. 2 (London, 1760). It was penned into
the music manuscript copybooks of London fiddler Thomas Hammersley (1790), and,
in America, in the 1790 copybook of fiddler Linnaeus Bolling (Buckingham County,
Virginia) and the 1794 copybook of flute player Micah Hawkins (New York). It
can even be heard played by the mechanism of a musical clock by Norwich, Conn.,
master Thomas Harland, dating from the 1770’s. Thompson (Compleat
Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1), 1757; No. 174.

PEASCOD TIME. AKA and see "The Hunt is Up (When the
Cock He Crows)." English, Ballad Air. By the end of the sixteenth
century the air "The Hunt is Up" was known by this title, which means
the time when the field‑peas are gathered. Under this "Peascod"
title the tune was appropriated by two other famous ballads, "The Lady's
Fall" and "Chevy Chase."

PEASE STRAE/STRAW. AKA and see "Bathget Boys," "Clean Pea(se) Straw/Strae,"
"Pea Straw" (U.S.).Scottish, English, American; Reel or Country
Dance Tune. England, Northumberland. D Mixolydian or D Major (Johnson).
Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (Athole, Johnson, Skye): AABB' (Barnes,
Seattle/Vickers). A popular dance tune in the British Isles and America
throughout the 18th century and into the 19th. Instructions for a country dance
to the melody can be found in the Scottish Holmain
Manuscript, c. 1710‑50, where it is alternately titled "Bathget
Boys," and the tune itself is contained twice in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth (1768). Johnson (1988) also prints a
contra dance of the same name with the melody. Flett and Flett (1964) record
that the same Scottish dance went by different names according to which tune
was played to accompany it in a particular locale; thus the dance also was
called "Duke of Perth" and "Brown's Reel" in East Fife, Perthshire
and Angus, and "Keep the Country, Bonny Lassie" in the upper parts of
Ettrick. The title Pease Strae for the series of steps was used in the area
around Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Arran and Galloway, and was taught by all the
local dancing masters. An English version was printed c. 1740 in the imprint
MWA, 200 Country Dances (pg. 79), and
the title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance
tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800.
The melody was recorded as one of the tunes danced to at a 1752 "turtle
frolic" at Goats Island, near Newport Rhode Island (a turtle frolic was a
special event which occurred when a West Indies turtles, towed astern from the
Caribbean, arrived in port). Later, the piece appeared in print in America in A Collection of Contra Dances, printed
in Walpole, New Hampshire, in 1799.

PEAS(E) UPON A
TRENCHER [1] (Pis Air An Mias). AKA and see "The Time I've
Lost in Wooing." English, Scottish; Country Dance Tune (2/4 time); Irish,
Air. F Major (Raven): G Major (Merryweather & Seattle, O'Neill). Standard
tuning. AB (O'Neill): AABB (Merryweather & Seattle, Raven). A trencher is
an oblong trough‑shaped shallow dish formerly used instead of a plate.
The melody appears in a number of musicians’ manuscript copybooks, including
those of Henry Beck (1786), John Fife (compiled 1780-1804 in Perthshire,
Scotland, and possibly at sea), Oliver White (Conn., 1775), fifer Aaron
Thompson (New Jersey, 1777-1782), and Ebenezer Bevens (Middletown, Conn.,
1825), among others. In print it can be found in James Aird’s Selection of
Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 1 (Glasgow, 1782), Neil
Stewart’s Select Collection of Scots, English, Irish and Foreign Airs,
Jiggs, and Marches (Edinburgh, 1788), and in numerous fife tutors and
martial publications of the early 19th century. It was a melody in
John O’Keefe’s opera The Poor Soldier (1784), and can even be heard
played by a musical clock of 1798-99, from the shop of famous New Jersey
clockmakers Leslie and Williams. Source for notated version: an MS collection
by fiddler Lawrence Leadley, 1827-1897 (Helperby, Yorkshrire) [Merryweather
& Seattle]. Merryweather & Seattle (The
Fiddler of Helperby), 1994; No. 125, pg. 65. O'Neill (Music of Ireland,
1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 533, pg. 93. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 150. Riley (Flute
Melodies), vol. 1, 1814; pg. 92.

X:1

T:Pease Upon a Trencher [1]

M:2/4

L:1/8

K:F

C|F>EFG|A2 AA|G>FGA|B2
AG|F>EFG|A>Bcf|cAB>G|F2F:|

|:f|f>FFG|A2 AA|B>GGA|B2
AG|F>EFG|A>Bcf|cAB>G|F2F:|

PEAS UPON A TRENCHER [2].English, American. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody saw
martial use as the signal for breakfast and supper, sounded by fifers. It was
used for this purpose as early as 1816 when it’s use was identified in a volume
called The Martial Music of Camp Dupont, published in Philadelphia. This
version of the melody appears in Alvan Robinson’s Massachusetts Collection
of Martial Musick, first published in Maine in 1818 (with later editions in
1820 and 1824). Johnson (A Further Collection of Dances, Marches, Minuetts
and Duetts of the Latter 18th Century), 1998; pg. 15. Mattson
& Walz (Old Fort Snelling…Fife), 1974; pg. 98.

PÊCHEUSE, LA. French-Canadian, Reel. Canada, Québec. D Major. Standard tuning. AA’BC.
A ‘crooked’ tune, with extra beats in the third and sixth measures of the ‘C’
part. The first tune Chicoutimi fiddler Louis Boudreault learned on the fiddle,
who said “When my mother heard me her eyes filled with tears, knowing full well
I would become a fiddler” (Guy Bouchard). Recorded by André Marchand and
Jean-Paul Loyer. Remon & Bouchard (25
Crooked Tunes), Vol. 2, 1997; No. 4.

PEEK-A-BOO WALTZ. American, Canadian; Waltz. USA; Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama,
Tenn., Virginia, New York. Canada, Prince Edward Island. D Major (most versions):
G Major (Howard Marshall). Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AABB (Phillips):
AA’BB’(Perlman). Some have ascribed Swedish origins for this waltz which became
popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century, though Paul
Gifford thinks this is unlikely and suspects it was in fact a 19th‑century
American composition. He believes that the similarity of “Peek-a-Boo” to a
genuine Scandinavian tune, "Life in the Finnish
Woods" (well-known to the Scandinavian population of the mid-west), is
the reason for the confusion, but maintains this is a coincidence and that the
tunes are not derivative or cognate. The waltz has been attributed to William
J. Scanlon (1856-1898), who published it in 1881.Scanlon was a singer who began his career as a child, and by his
early teens was accompanying lectures at temperance meetings to sing hymns and
provide a musical interlude between sermons.He toured the New England temperance circuit for seven years, until, at
the age of 20, the bright lights and big city called him.Forming a team with an Irish comedian by the
name of William Cronin, he performed on the early vaudeville stage, until finally
he made it to Broadway. Scanlon was performing in the show Mavourneen (which opened Sept. 28, 1891 in New York’s 14th
Street Theater) when he began to show signs of mental instability, a condition
which worsened through the autumn of that year, even though he continued to
perform. His final break came on Christmas Day of that year, and on January 7th,
1892, he was institutionalized for reasons of insanity at the Bloomingdale
Asylum in White Plains, New York, where he remained until his death six years
later. Seattle fiddler Vivian Williams believes the title “Peek-a-boo Waltz”
may have derived from the popular song “Peekaboo, I See You,” written in the
mid-19th century.

PEEL THE WILLOW. AKA and see "She Goes [1],"
"Off She Goes For Butter and Cheese," "Up She Got and Off She Went."
American, Jig. USA, southwestern Pa. E Flat Major. Standard tuning. AB. A
version of the very popular English country dance tune "Off She
Goes." Source for notated version: Hiram White (fiddler from Greene
County, Pa., 1930's; he also called the tune "Blackberry Blossom")
[Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle),
1981; No. 544G, pg. 487.

PEEP O' DAY [1]. Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by "N.
Gow" (Niel or Nathaniel?), according to Ryan/Cole, although John Glen
(1891) finds the earliest printing of this tune in Robert Ross's 1780 collection. Nigel
Gatherer says he has been unable to find the tune in any of the Gow
collections, leading to the conclusion the attribution by Ryan is erroneous. Although
perhaps unrelated to the title of this reel, Don Meade finds that the Peep o’
Day Boys referred to Protestant gangs that terrorized the Ulster Catholic
population in the late 18th century (who visited homes at dawn in
search of arms or to give the message to leave and “go to Hell or Connacht”).
Perhaps it is a reference to the most popular title by Mrs. Favell Lee Mortimer
(1802-1878), an English writer in the mid 19th century, was The Peep of Day; or, a Series of the
Earliest Religious Instruction the Infant Mind is Capable of Receiving, a
children’s Bible primer. Published in 1833 when the author was aged 31, it was
hugely successful and sold at least a million copies in thirty-eight languages,
“including Yoruba, Malayalam, Marathi-Balbodh, Tamil, Cree, Ojibwa, and French”
(see Todd Pruzan, “Global Warning,” The
New Yorker, April 11, 2005, pg. 34-41). Mrs. Mortimer, however, was a
particularly acerbic and opinionated writer, and sometimes downright sadistic.
In the opening chapter of Peep of Day
she writes (for children, remember!):

***

God has covered your bones with flesh. Your flesh is soft and warm. In
your flesh there is blood.

God has put skin outside, and it covers your flesh and blood like a
coat…How kind of God it was

to give you a body! I hope that your body will not get hurt.

***

Will your bones break?—Yes, they would, if you were to fall down from a
high place, or if a cart

were to go over them…How easy it would be to hurt your poor little body!

***

If it were to fall into the fire, it would be burned up…If a great knife
were run through your body,

the blood would come out. If a great box were to fall on your head, your
head would be crushed.

If you were to fall out of the window, your nick would be broken. If you
were not to eat some food

for a few days, your little body would be very sick, your breath would
stop, and you would grow

PEERIE DUNTER, DA (The Little Duck). Shetland, Jig. A Major.Standard
tuning. AAB. "Composed (by Tom Anderson) in the summer of 1975 while
watching the antics of a baby Eider duck swimming just off the rock where Tom
was sitting at Avensgarth, Eshaness. The 'Dunter' is the Shetland name for the
Eider duck" (Anderson). Anderson (Ringing
Strings), 1983; pg. 27.

PEG A RAMSAY. Irish, English; Air (4/4 time). C Major (Chappell): D Mixolydian
(Kines). Standard tuning. AB (Chappell): ABB (Kines). The tune appears in
William Ballet's Lute Book of 1594,
and a Scottish version in the Rowallan Manuscript (c. 1629) under the title
“Maggie Ramsay.” John Glen (Early
Scottish Melodies, 1900) believes Scottish sources predate English ones,
and says that the William Ballet tune is merely an English version of the
Rowallan one (believing the Ballet book not to have the antiquity claimed for
it). Grattan Flood (1906) explains that it was curiously called a "dump
tune" by Thomas Nash in 1596 (in his Have
with you to Saffron Walden), and again in his 1598 "Shepherd's
Holiday" when he alluded to "Roundelays, Irish Hayes, "Cogs and
Rongs, and Peg a Ramsay."Shakespeare, in Twelfth Night
(act ii, sc 3) refers to the dance when Sir Toby calls Maluolio a "Peg a
Ramsay" and also makes mention of "merry dumps," "dreary
dumps," "deploring dumps," and "doleful dumps."
Perhaps because of the latter three references Chappell (1859) thought the dump
a slow dance (see "The Irish Dumpe"), while Cowyn equates it with the
Irish "duan" of "dan" (meaning a song or poem). According
to Flood (not always the most accurate of researchers, and sometime notoriously
erroneous), it referred to the music of an ancient Irish harplike instrument,
the "tiompan" or timpan. The timpan was also popular in England in
the 15th and 16th centurys, and the words "dump" and
"thump," which mean to "pluck" and "strike" the
timpan entered the English language, originally in connection with the
instrument. Thus Shakespeare's reference to a "merry dump" is
explained as descriptive of a technique of playing or a type of sharp musical
attack (See "Dump"). Chappell says that Ramsey was a town in
Huntingdonshire which was formerly an important burg, called "Ramsey the
rich" before the destruction of its abbey. In later years the title “Peg-a
Ramsay,” meaning ‘Peg from Ramsey’ became the name “Peggy Ramsay.”“Bonny Peggy Ramsay” with bawdy words
appears in Wit and Mirth (1719) and
exactly fit the tune in Dr. Bull's manuscript boot, states Kines (1964). They
begin:

***

Bonny Peggy Ramsay that any man may see;

And bonny was her face with a fair freck I'd eye;

Neat is her body made and she hath good skill,

And round are her bonny arms that work well at the mill

With a hey tro‑lo‑del, hey tro‑lo‑del, hey tro‑lo‑del
lil;

Bonny Peggy Ramsay that works well at the mill.

***

A second
tune for “Peg a Ramsay” is cited by Chappell, that of “Watton Town’s End,” to
which several songs were sung, including that of “Bonny Peggy Ramsay”

PEGGIE IS
OVER YE SIE WI’ YE SOULDIER. Scottish. From the
Skene Manuscript (c. 1615). Bayard finds a modern American variant of the song
and tune in the Lomax’s Our Singing Country (1941) under the title “The Lame
Soldier,” recorded in Indiana in 1938. In the song Peggy leaves her husband to
follow a soldier overseas, but afterwards is mistreated by him. Bayard says the
second line of the Lomax tune is nearly identical with the first and second
lines of the Skene MS air, and feels the Indiana song must be a derivative in
both tune and words.

X:1

T:Peggie is Over Ye Sie Wi’ Ye Souldier

M:3/8

L:1/8

K:C

cde|edd|geg|a3:|c’ba|bag|a’2 b|a2 b|c’ba|geg|a2 a|A3||

PEGGIE’S DUMPLING. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Carl
Volti, born Archibald Milligan in Glasgow in 1849. Volti, a fiddler,
composed many tunes found in the Kerr’s collections and also published several
tutors, albums of popular songs, national overtures, etc. (Nigel Gatherer).
Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 4; No. 8,
pg. 4.

PEGGY BAND.English, Jig. G Major. Standard
tuning. AABB. The melody originally appears in Charles and Samuel Thompson’s Compleat
Collection, vol. 3 (London, 1773). It was entered into the commonplace
books of Elisha Belknap (Framingham, Mass., 1780), and fiddlers John and
William Pitt Turner (Norwich, Conn., 1788). Numerous tunes from the Thompson’s
1773 collection appear in the Turners’ collection. In the Belknap collection it
is called “Peggy Band, a Retreat” indicating military use as a melody played to
signal end of duties in the evening. There are different tunes under the title
“Peggy Band, a Retreat.” One such is in the manuscripts of Perthshire musician
John Fife, 1780, and fifer William Morrisof Hunterdon County, N.J., 1776, which tune is called “Peggy Bawn” in
James Aird’s Selections of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol.
5, 1797. It is reasonable to assume the “Peggy Band” title is a corruption of
“Peggy Bawn.” Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country
Dances, vol. 3), 1773; No. 138.

PEGGY, I MUST LOVE
THEE. Scottish, Air (4/4 time). D Major.
Standard tuning. AABB.Chappell (1859)
asserts this tune was appropriated from the English "The Deel Assist the
Plotting Whigs," composed by Purcell (from 180 Loyal Songs, 1685), a notion which John Glen (Early Scottish Melodies, 1900) dismisses
as absurd. Glen prints the tunes side by side, and there in fact seems little
resemblance between them. Playford published the “Peggy, I must love thee” air
as “A New Scotch Tune” in his Apollo’s
Banquet (fifth edition) of 1687 and Musick’s
Handmaid (Part II, 1689, again, “composed by Purcell”). As “Peggy I Must
Love Thee” it was published in Adam Craig’s Scottish collection (1730).
Stenhouse, in notes to the Scots Musical
Museum, maintains that the Scots air predated Purcell, and that Purcell
“may have put a bass to it.” John Playford, in Apollo’s Banquet, noted that it was “A Scotch Tune in fashion.”
Sets of words were published to the tune by Allan Ramsay in his Tea Table Miscellany (1724). Glen finds
variants in the Leyden and the Blaikie manuscripts (1692), under the titles
“Maggie I must love thee” and “Yet, Meggie, I must love thee.” The Blaikie air
differs from Playford’s in the second strain, as does the “Magie I must love
thee” in the Margaret Sinkler manuscript Music Book (1710). McGibbon (Scots Tunes, Book 1), c. 1746; pgs. 2-3.
Maggie’s Music MM220,
Hesperus – “Celtic Roots.”

PEGGY IS YOUR HEAD
SICK?AKA and see "Mourne
Mountains [1]," "The Purty Girl,"
"Bascadh Thomais Mhic an Bhaird." Irish, Air (2/4 time). Ireland,
County Louth. E Major. Standard tuning. AB. When played as a dance tune it is
often called “The Long Hills of Mourne,” remarked George Petrie, although it
does not appear to resemble the tune that usually goes by that name (which is
also called “The Old Bush Reel”). Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 768, pg. 192.

PEGGY, NOW THE KING'S
COME. Northumbrian. Title appears in
Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The
Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800.

PEGGY O'HARA'S WEDDING. Irish, Air (2/4 time, "with spirit"). G Major/G Mixolydian.
Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. "The song of which this is the air is a
comic or ironical description, in Irish, of the fun and rout at the wedding,
very much celebrated in Connaught. A copy will be found in Hardiman's 'Iar
Connaught,' p. 286: composed by MacSweeny, a Connaught poet. This air...(was)
taken down by Forde from Paddy Conneely junior" (Joyce). Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909;
No. 477, p. 264.

PEGGY'S NETTLES. Irish. Composed by Noel Ryan, guitar player for the group Danú, in
honor of his mother who once roused him from a deep sleep on evening, armed
with stinging nettles in case verbal persuasion did not work. Shanachie 78030, Danú – “Think Before You Think” (2000).

PEN RHAW (The Spade Head). Welsh, Air. The tune appears in Edward Jones’s
first edition of Musical and Poetical Relicks
of the Welsh Bards (1784). Kidson (Groves)
says there is considerable affinity in this melody with “John Come Kiss Me Now,” a tune
common in England and Scotland in the 16th and 17th
centuries.

PENINGTON’S RANT.English, Jig. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody was first
published by John Johnson in his Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country
Dances, vol. 6 (London, 1748). Johnson also published (in 1748) a melody
called “Pennington’s Maggot,” so perhaps Pennington was a dancing master.
Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1),
1757; No. 30.

X:1

T:Penington’s Rant

M:6/8

L:1/8

N:The ‘E’ note in the fourth measure of the 2nd
part may be played natural.

PENNAN DEN. Scottish, Slow Air (4/4 time). D Minor. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed
by James Watt (1832‑1909) of Pennan, near Fraserburgh. Watt in his early
years was a sailor and fisherman who later became a teacher in his village. He
made some violins, but was more in demand as a dance‑fiddler. Source for
notated version: George Riddell (Scotland) [Henderson]. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 100.
Henderson (Flowers of Scottish Melody),
1935.

PENNILESS
TRAVELLER, THE (An Gabalac Gan
Airgiod). AKA
and see "When Sick
is it Tea You Want? [1]" "Go to the Devil and
Shake Yourself [1]," "Come From the Devil
and Shake Yourself." Irish, Double Jig. C Major (O’Neill/MOI): G Major
(O’Neill/Waifs). Standard tuning. AABB (O’Neill/MOI): AABB’ (O’Neill/Waifs).
O’Neill (1922) remarks: “The above is an old strain which appeared in
print at least as early as 1798 in a much simpler setting under the name
"Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself". It was included in six Collections of Country Dances published
in London in that year. It has been confused with "Get Up Old Woman and
Shake Yourself", an entirely differenttune. None of the names appear in Bunting, Petrie or Joyce collections.
Another name for this tune is ‘When You Are Sick 'Tis Tea You Want’, but a tune
so named in the Petrie Collections is a different 8 bar melody.” O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 772, pg. 144.
O’Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic
Melody), 1922; No. 156.

X:1

T:Penniless Traveller, The

M:6/8

L:1/8

S:Capt. F. O'Neill

Z:Paul Kinder

K:G

B/2c/2|dgg gfe|ded dBc|dgg g2 a|bag "tr"e2 d|

dgg gfe|ded dBd|gbg a/2b/2c'a|bgg g2:|

|:B/2c/2|dBG GFG|ecc c2 d|eAA ABG|Edd d2 B|

1dgg gfe|ded dBd|gbg a/2b/2c'a|bgg g2:|

2dgg faa|gbb abc'|d'bg a/2b/2c'a|bgg g2||

PENNINGTON'S FAREWELL. American. Information about the
piece with a story similar to the "MacPherson's
Lament" or "Last of
Callahan" type of gallows tunes, comes from UCLA's D. K. Wilgus, in
his paper "The Hanged Fiddler Legend in Anglo-American Tradition."
Edward Alonzo Pennington was a Kentucky businessman known for his sharp deals,
a passer of counterfeit money, a horse thief and murderer--and a fiddler--whose
career came to an untimely end in 1845.It seems that Pennington, feeling that he was to imminently be brought
to justice for his misdeeds, fled to Texas just ahead of the authorities.Given the state of communications and the
obscure state of the law in Texas at the time (Texas was still a territory and
nominally part of Mexico until 1846), Pennington might have remained at large
in the fringes of the west, as did so many others with shady pasts.However, Pennington, perhaps unwisely,
continued to publicly exercise his talent on the fiddle and was recognised one
night by a Kentucky visitor as he played for a camp dance in Lamar County.He was executed for his crimes, but, similar
to MacPherson or Callahan, when brought to the gallows he asked for his fiddle
and played a tune he composed called "Pennington's Farewell," then
recited the following rhyme:

***

Oh, dreadful, dark and dismal day,

How have my joys all passed away!

My sun's gone down, my days are done,

My race on earth has now been run.

***

This couplet will be recognised as a
standard "goodnight" form typical of 17th century ballads,
but also as the opening stanza of the ballad "Frankie Silvers" about
a North Carolina murderess hanged in 1833. Wilgus states he could find no
published record of the tune, but an elderly distant relative of Pennington's
who fiddled in her earlier years, remembered "Pennington's Farewell"
as the piece better known as "Blackberry
Blossoms," a variant of "The
Last of Callahan." When Wilgus, in 1965, was able to record live
performances of the tune entitled "Pennington's Farewell" he found
the association to be correct, though none of the fiddlers knew the
hanged-fiddler story attached to the melody. Billy Cornette says his Kentucky ancestors
called the tune known as “Too
Young to Marry” (and a myriad of other titles) by the name of “Pennington’s
Farewell.”

PENNSYLVANIA FIFERS, THE. AKA and see "Jaybird."
American, Reel. USA, southwestern Pa. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. A version
of the British air "Ladies
Briest/Breast Knot(s)," better known in the United States as
"Jaybird." Source for notated version: Clyde Lloyd (fifer from
Indiana County, Pa., 1952) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 176C, pg. 128.

PENNY WEDDING REEL. Scottish, Reel. D Minor. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Nathaniel
Gow (1763-1831). A ‘penny wedding’ is one in which the guests all
contribute a dish for the after-ceremony celebration, or one in which the
guests all contribute something to the new couple to defray the cost of the
festivities. Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841) painted The
Penny Wedding in 1818. Carlin (The
Gow Collection), 1986; No. 311. Gow (Fifth Collection of Strathspey
Reels), 1807; pg. 13.

PENNYCUICK HOUSE.Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time).
C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Composed by Niel Gow, Jr. (c.
1795-1823), the son of Nathaniel Gow and the grandson of family scion Niel Gow.
While it looks like a jig on paper, Gow directed it be played ‘Slowly’. The
younger Niel briefly joined his father’s music publishing firm, and was showing
great promise as a talented performer and composer before his untimely death.
His father collected and published his son’s compositions in a Collection of Slow Airs, Strathspeys and
Reels, being the Posthumous Compositions of the late Niel Gow, Junior,
dedicated to the Right Honourable, the Earl of Dalhousie, by his much obliged
servant, Nathaniel Gow (Edinburgh, 1849). Pennycuick House,
Midlothian, Scotland, takes its name from the nearby village of Pennycuick,
anciently spelled Penicok, from the Gaelic Pen-y-coc,
or the Cuckoo’s hill. The mansion, which featured a Grecian portico of eight
columns, was built in 1761 by Sir James Clerk, Baronet, and was surrounded by a
wooded park. Johnson (A Twenty Year Anniversary Collection), 2003; p. 9.

PEN-RHAW. Welsh, Air. A traditional Welsh harp air. Robin Huw Bowen remarks that
the piece has been a vehicle in the past for penillion, a type of singing verses to harp airs which demands that
the singer start after the harp, render the song (of a different metre and
phrase length) in counterpoint, and finish at the same time! Flying Fish FF70610, Robin Huw Bowen – “Telyn Berseiniol Fy
Ngwlad/The Sweet Harp of My Land” (1996).

PENRUDDOCK.English, Country Dance Tune
(4/4 time). A Minor (‘A’ part) & A Major (‘B’ part). Standard tuning
(fiddle). AABB. A modern composition by Brian Jenkins. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2),
2005; pg. 120 (appears as “Sleeping in the Attic”, the name of a country dance
by Philippe Callens set to the tune).

PENTLAND HILLS. AKA and see "The
Battle of Pentland Hills." Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time). G Major.
Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Hardie): AABBCCDD (Johnson). Composed by James
Oswald (1711‑69) of Dumfermline and published in his Caledonian Pocket Companion (1747‑c.1769). Oswald lived
varioulsy in Edinburgh and, to the Scottish capitol's loss, from 1741 in London
where he was a dancing master, singer, composer and music publisher. Johnson
(1984) thinks it probably dates to the time of Oswald's Edinburgh years in the
late 1730's. It also appears in Davie's Caledonian
Repository (1829, 1850) and in Flores
Musicae (where the title is perhaps mistakenly "The Battle of Pentland
Hills"‑‑there was a battle in those hills {at Rullion Green in
1666}, says Johnson, but the tune is clearly a pastoral air and not a battle
piece). The Pentlands are a range of hills south‑west of Edinburgh which
were used for hunting and hawking in the days of King Robert the Bruce in the
early part of the 14th century. Neil (1991) anecdotally relates:

PEPPER'S
BLACK [1]. English, Country Dance Tune (6/4
time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The air was published by Playford
in his English Dancing Master of
1650, though it appears it is considerably older. “Pepper’s Black” was
mentioned by Nashe as a dance tune in a 1596 work, Have with you to Saffron-Walden:

***

Dick Harvey…having preacht and beat downe three pulpits in

inveighing against dauncing, one Sunday
evening, when his

wench or friskin was footing it aloft on the
greene, with foote

out and foote in, and as busie as might be at Rogero, Baselino,

Turkelony,
All the flowers of the broom, Pepper is black, Greene

Sleeves,
Peggy Ramsey, came sneaking behind a
tree, and lookt on,…

***

Chappell
records that a 1569 ballad by Elderton, entered at the Stationers' Hall and
called “Prepare ye to the Plough,” was directed to be sung to “Pepper’s Black.”
Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time),
vol. 1, 1859; p. 290. Raven (English
Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 41 (a facsimile copy of Playford’s
printing).

PERFECT CURE, THE (An Uile-Íoc). AKA and see "The Long Dance," “Long John’s Wedding.” English,
Irish; Single Jig. D Major (Kennedy, Raven): G Major (Williamson). Standard
tuning. AABB. Paul Burgess (Tradtunes
list 09.06.06) writes that this tune was originally a ‘novelty jumping song’
performed by J.H. Stead at various music halls in London, and cites one such
venue as Weston’s Music Hall (later the Hackney Empire) in the 1850’s. It was
composed as a ‘novelty schottische’, although the dotted duple rhythm has since
been altered to triple time (a common enough occurrence in aurally learned
traditional music). Burgess writes that the chorus to the song began: “Oh, I’m
the Perfect Cure…”, which became a popular expression in Victorian London.
Alfred Rosling Bennet, in his 1924 reminiscence London and Londoners in the Eighteen-Fifties and Sixties [Chapter
VI, Street Entertainers] remembered: “About 1860 came Stead with his ‘Perfect
Cure’, which raged through the land like an influenza. We had a lot of musical
education since then, but what modern composition has rivalled the renown of
that to-all-appearance silly production? In later years it was stated that this
popular performed was a relative of Mr. ‘Pall-Mall’ Stead” (a reference to the
editor of the Pall Mall Gazette from 1883 to 1880, William Thomas Stead). It
has been suggested that spirits and other intoxicants (such as laudanum) are
‘the perfect cure.’

***

Parenthetically, Lord Henry Cockburn
(1779-1854), in his posthumously published memoir Memorials of His Time (1856),records the following anecdote of the health system of Edinburgh c. 1800
(where each physician seemed to have his own idiosyncratic curatives), and
exposes period attempts to extract medical proficiency:

***

In 1800 the people of Edinburgh were much occupied about the removal of
an evil

in the system of their Infirmary; which evil, though strenuously
defended by able men,

it is difficult now to believe could ever have existed. The medical
officers consisted

at that time of the whole members of the Colleges of Physicians and
Surgeons, who

attended the hospital by a monthly rotation; so that the patients had
the chance of

an opposite treatment, according to the whim of the doctor, every thirty
days. Dr.

James Gregory, whose learning extended beyond that of his profession,
attacked

this absurdity in one of his powerful, but wild and personal, quarto
pamphlets. The

public was entirely on his side; and so at last were the managers, who
resolved

that the medical officers should be appointed permanently, as they have
ever since

been. Most of the medical profession, including the whole private
lecturers, and

even the two colleges, who all held that the power of annoying the
patients in their

turn was their right, were vehement against this innovation; and some of
them went

to law in opposition to it. (pgs.
96-97).

***

Breathnach styles the melody as a
single jig in 12/8 time. It is played as a slide in County Kerry. The first
part ofthe double jig “Long John’s
Wedding” and “Long John’s Wedding March” are the same, although the second
parts are not. See also the Orkney Islands tune “The Rope Waltz” for a tune with similar
melodic material.

PERIWIG, THE (A' Phiorbhuic). AKA ‑ "Fry'd Periwig,”
“Pirriwig." Scottish, Pipe Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AB (Surenne):
AAB (Fraser). Periwig is a corrupt form of the French word perruque, which itself stems from the Latin word pilus, or hair. The wigs came into
fashion probably due to the French monarch Louis XIV, who had long curled locks
much admired when he was young, but who became increasingly bald early.When Louis started wearing a wig they
immediately became status symbols of one’s importance in the French court, and
the fashion quickly spread to other countries. In 1655 Louis appointed 48
wig-makers, and the first wigmakers guild was established in Paris the next
year. Wigs were not cheap due to the relative scarcity of quality materials and
high demand, and there were periodic concerns about dubious origins of raw
materials. In England during the Great Plague of 1665 and 1666, there were even
rumours that the hair of plague victims was used in the wigs' manufacture.Upon the death of Louis in 1715 the fashion
for large, elaborate periwigs began to wane, and by 1720 shorter, smaller wigs
were to be seen. Apropos of Fraser’s story below, the wearing of wigs was
adopted by the clergy only some 20 years after coming into fashion with the
laity, as they were initially seen as worldly and vain.Come they did, however, and periwigs stayed
in fashion with clergy again some 20 years longer than with the laity, who had
adopted the smaller wigs of the 18th century.

***

By the
beginning of the 19th century the fashion for wigs in Britain was
over, save for a few conservative circles.Henry Cockburn (1779-1854), writing in his book Memorials of His Time (published posthumously in 1856), writes of
older Scots gentry of the era and their wariness of fashions that might appear
disloyal:

***

In nothing was the monarchical principle more
openly displayed or insulted than in the

adherence to, or contempt of, hair-powder. The
reason of this was, that this powder,

and the consequent enlargement and complexity
of the hair on which it was displayed,

were not merely the long-established badges of
aristocracy, but that short and undressed

crops had been adopted in France. Our loyal,
therefore, though beginning to tire of the

greasy and dusty dirt, laid it on with profuse
patriotism, while the discontented exhibited

themselves ostentatiously in all the Jacobinism
of clean natural locks. (pg. 62)

***

Captain Simon Fraser, in his note on
the tune, suggests the notion that wigs were becoming old-fashioned even in the
Highlands at the end of the 18th century.

***

"Whether the subject matter of this air was a real or imaginary periwig,
the editor is not prepared to assert; but so popular was it, as sung by the
gentlemen mentioned in the prospectus, that a roar of laughter succeeded each
verse, infinitely longer than any verse of the song, in every company where they
were prevailed upon to attempt it. An anecdote told of Mr. Fraser of Culduthel,
renders it probable that he was the composer of this beautiful sprightly air.
He was at a baptismal entertainment at the editor's grandfather's, where the
presence of the them minister of Boleskine, a very old and venerable clergyman,
could not restrain his propensity for exciting mirth. He sat next but one to
the minister, and found means, over his neighbor's shoulder, to tickle below
the parson's large wig with a long feather, or blade of corn, or some such
thing. As the glass went round, the old man got very uneasy, but suspected
nobody; he at last got up in a rage, dreading an earwig or spider had got into
his wig, and shook it over the blazing fire, but unfortunately lost his hold of
it. It was too fat to admit of salvation; and with the immoderate laugh
excited, it remained frying there, till it had almost suffocated the company,
whilst the minister's bald pate produced a second laugh at his expense, in
which he partook with the greatest good humor, and enjoyed it more when told
how it happened. The real name of the air is the 'Fry'd Periwig', rendering
this its probable origin; but the song turns it into a thousand ideal shapes,
which nobody could better delineate than the adept who thus gave it the first
celebrity"

***

A similarly titled reel in E Minor
is "The Pirriwig." Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the
Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 74, pg. 27. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pg. 121.Maggies’s Music
MM220, Hesperus – “Celtic Roots.”

PERNOD. Scottish, Waltz. B Minor. Standard tuning. ABB'. The first half of the
tune was composed in 1984 by Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham at a cafe in
Paris, while drinking Pernod, and the second part was written in the Isle of
Skye, with Michael O'Domhnaill [Matthiesen]. Matthiesen (Waltz Book II), 1995; pg. 44. Green Linnet
- "Relativity."

PERRY'S
VICTORY [1]. AKA and see "Butler County." American, Jig or
March (6/8 time). USA, southwestern Pa. G Major. Standard tuning. AB or AABB.
Bayard (1981) says “Perry’s Victory” is at least as old as the 18th century,
and has a "tantalizing" general resemblance to an Irish song tune
called "A Ghaoith o'n Deas" (O
Southern Breeze), with an especially close resemblance in the 'B' part.
Also generally similar are the melodies "The Men of Garvagh" and "The Black Dance." The title references
the victory on September 10, 1813, when Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
defeated and captured a British squadron of warships at the Battle of Lake
Erie. The battle, fought during the War of 1812, secured control of Lake Erie
for the United States and enabled General William Henry Harrison to conduct a
successful invasion of Western Upper Canada. Harrison subsequently defeated the
British and Indians at the Thames River on October 5, 1813. The dual victories
of Lake Erie and the Thames provided an important morale boost to the young
country and gave the United States a much stronger bargaining position at the
peace talks. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve 1814, ended the War
1812.

PERSANNE, LA.French, Country Dance (2/4 time). C Major.
Standard tuning. AABBCC. From the contradance book (tunes with dance
instructions) of Robert Daubat (who styled himself Robert d’Aubat de
Saint-Flour), born in Saint-Flour, Cantal, France, in 1714, dying in Gent,
Belgium, in 1782. According to Belgian fiddler Luc De Cat, at the time of the
publication of his collection (1757) Daubat was a dancing master in Gent and
taught at several schools and theaters.He also was the leader of a choir and was a violin player in a theater.
Mr. De Cat identifies a list of subscribers of the original publication,
numbering 132 individuals, of the higher level of society and the nobility, but
also including musicians and dance-masters (including the ballet-master from
the Italian opera in London). Many of the tunes are written with parts for
various instruments, and include a numbered bass. Daubat (Cent Contredanses en Rond), 1757; No. 8.

PERSIAN DANCE, A. AKA and see "Gallopede,"
"Persian Ricardo." English, Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). England;
Shropshire, Lincolnshire. G Major (Ashman): D Major (Sumner). Standard tuning.
AABBCC. The tune is well-known nowadays under the “Gallopede” title, especially
at New England contra dances, although many early 19th century
English fiddlers’ manuscripts list it under the “Persian” or “Persian Ricardo”
title. In addition to the printed collections below, it appears under that
title in the separate 19th century music manuscripts of Lancashire
musicians James
Nuttall and William
Tildsley. Source for notated version: a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire
musician John Moore [Ashman]; the 1823-26 music mss of papermaker and musician
Joshua Gibbons (1778-1871, of Tealby, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire Wolds)
[Sumner]. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe),
1991; No. 61, pg. 24. Sumner (Lincolnshire
Collections, vol. 1: The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript), 1997; pg. 22 (appears
as “Persion”).

PERSIAN RICARDO. AKA and see "Gallopede,"
"Persian Dance." English, Country Dance Tune. The melody, commonly
known as "Gallopede," appears under this title in the John Clare MS.
(c. 1830’s). However, the tune was originally published in Preston’s 24
Country Dances for 1801.

PERTH
ASSEMBLY. Scottish, Reel. F Major. Standard
tuning (fiddle). AAB (Hunter, MacDonald, Stewart-Robertson): AABB
(Cranford/Fitzgerald). Composed by Samson Duncan (1767‑1837), born at
Kinclaven. He was an excellent fiddler and played with some of the most famous
fiddlers and bands of the time‑‑Niel, Nathaniel and John Gow. He
was also musician to the Laird on Aldie at Meidlour House.

***

Perth,
Perth and Kinross, has been a settlement since Roman times and may be older.
During the 15th century it was regarded as the capitol of Scotland.
While the title “Perth Assembly” may refer to a hunting or gentlemen’s club or
to the Presbyterian synod, there is some thought, perhaps outdated, that it
references ancient ceremonies.There is
a sword dance called The Perth Assembly that is thought by some to have derived
from a ceremonial dance performed by the powerful chieftains who gathered at
Perth on occasion to swear allegiance to the king. Claymore swords were
arranged in a circle on the ground, points pointing in, and the dance performed
over them.

PERTH RACES. Scottish, Jig. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB’. The melody
appears in the 3rd collection of Malcolm MacDonald of Dunkeld,
dedicated to Miss Drummond of Perth. See note for “Perthshire
Hunt” for more on the races. MacDonald (A
Third Collection of Strathspey Reels), c. 1792; p. 6.

PERTHSHIRE HUNT, THE. AKA ‑ "Perth Hunt." AKA and
see "The Boyne Hunt [1],” "Highland Skip [2]," "Molly Maguire [2]," "Niel Gow's Reel [1]," “The Popcorn,” "Richmond Hill [2]," “The Sailor’s Trip to Liverpool.”
Scottish, Reel. A Major (most versions): D Major (Miller): C Major (Jones).
Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (most versions): AABB (Honeyman): AABB’
(Athole). The melody was composed by Miss M.(agdaline?) Stirling of Ardoch,
Perthshire, around 1788. The Stirlings were an old Perthshire family, a branch
of whom held lands in the parish of Muthill. Magdaline was a friend of Niel Gow
and his son Nathaniel, who published a few of her compositions in their
publications. She also published compositions under her own name. Caoimhin Mac
Aoidh (1994) maintains the tune was commissioned for the Perthshire Hunt Ball.
Hunter (1988) notes its opening "is one of the best examples of the use of
the upstroke beginning to reels." As "Richmond Hill" the melody
appears in George P. Knauff's Virginia
Reels, volume II (Baltimore, 1839). In Ireland the tune goes by the title
“The Boyne Hunt.”

***

This from George Penny’s Traditions
of Perth, Containing Sketches of the Manners and Customs (1836, pg. 41).

***

Horseracing and archery were
formerly much practiced in this quarter. It is a well authenticated

fact, that the affair of 1745 [i.e.
Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite rebellion] was concocted at the

Perth races, which, prior to that
period, were attended by noblemen from all parts of the kingdom.

The disastrous events of that year
put a stop to these amusements, and scattered the Scottish

gentry to different parts of the
continent; the effects of which were felt for 30 years. About 1784,

the exiled families began to return,
and many of the forfeited estates being restored, a new impulse

was given to the country. Many of
the gentlemen formed themselves into a body, styled the Perth-

shire Hunt, and a pack of fox hounds
was procured, and placed under the management of an

experienced huntsman. Their meetings
were held in October, and continued for a week, with balls

and ordinaries every day. When the
Caledonian Hunt held their meetings here, the assemblies

continued for a fortnight. The
present excellent racecourse was formed after the enlargement of

the North Inch, and for a time the
Perth Turf was among the best frequented in Scotland. Although

races have continued to be held
pretty regularly, they have lately greatly declined in point of attraction;

seldom extending beyond two days,
where they formerly occupied a week.

PERTHSHIRE VOLUNTEERS. Scottish, Strathspey or Highland Schottische. A Major. Standard tuning.
AB (Kerr): AAB (most versions). The Perthshire Volunteers were the 90th
Light Infantry Regiment, who later became the second battalion of the
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The regiment was raised in 1794 by Mr. Thomas
Graham, Laird of Balgowan, afterwards Lord Lynedoch, on his return from the
siege Toulon where he had gone as a volunteer.The King gave permission only reluctantly to Graham, who despite his
volunteering had very little military experience, but Graham received advice
and assistance from Lord Moira, who had much military experience in the
American wars. The uniform consisted of the regular red coat, faced with buff,
although the men wore light grey cloth pantaloons, leading to the corps being
dubbed the “Perthshire Grey-Breeks.” The regiment served with distinction in
Egypt at the beginning of the 19th century, then in Ireland and the
East Indies during most of the Napoleonic period. According to Keith
MacDonald's Skye Collection the
melody was composed by one "Miss Sterling" (who composed
"Perthshire Hunt"??). All other volumes omit composer credit,
including Gow (1800). Source for notated version: “As played by Alex. F.
Skinner,” who was J. Scott’s older brother, and a powerful violinist in his own
right [Skinner]. Carlin (The Gow
Collection), 1989; No. 204. Glen (The
Glen Collection of Scottish Music), vol. 2, 1895; pg. 6. Gow (Fourth
Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 2nd ed., originally 1800; pg.
28. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3;
No. 198, pg. 23. MacDonald (The Skye
Collection), 1887; pg. 16. Skinner (Harp
and Claymore), 1904; pg. 91. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 4. Beltona
BL2096 (78 RPM), Edinburgh Highland Reel and Strathspey Society (1936).